Caldwell avenges opening loss
with 7-3 victory against Trail

Published: April 14, 2004 8:00PM

Rod Johnson
The Daily Jeffersonian
Paybacks are nice, especially if youre on the giving end.
Thats where the Caldwell Redskin baseball team found itself on Wednesday evening, as they bested Buckeye Trail 7-3 in a Pioneer Valley Conference encounter at Cambridges Don Coss Stadium.
The Redskins triumph avenged an opening day loss to the Warriors and helped Caldwell leapfrog over Trail into second place in the PVC standings behind Fort Frye.
Wednesday evenings tilt also pitted the same pitchers as opening day, with Buckeye Trails Kevin Shipe dueling Caldwells Jason Shaw.
The senior right handers both had solid mound efforts, but five Warrior miscues and a stellar effort by Shaw derailed any chances for a Buckeye Trail victory.
By contrast, Caldwell committed just one error, and it came in the final inning when the game was no longer in doubt.
Shaw got the complete game win, fanning 10, walking two and scattering five hits. He improved his record to 2-1 and drew praise from both coaches.
Jason is getting sharper and stronger with each outing, Redskin coach Chad Briggs noted, and tonight we played really well in the field and gave him solid support. And this was a really key win for us because in keeps us in the hunt for the PVC title.
Buckeye Trail mentor Cory McQuain lamented his teams errors. We have really been in a defensive rut lately, he admitted, averaging around five errors a game. Obviously, were not going to win unless we eliminate the mistakes.
Tonight, though, Shaw was really good, McQuain continued. We didnt hit like we have been, but you have to give him the credit for that.
Shaw did some early damage with the bat as well, driving in two mates in the Caldwell first with a booming double. The Skins added an unearned run in the second before the Warriors finally made some noise of their own.
Trail plated a pair of runs in its third when Jordan Thompson and Matt Gilmore each had RBI singles.
Caldwell (4-3, 3-1 PVC) put the game out of reach with a three spot in the fourth. Matt Nau and Travis Thompson each had RBI singles in the rally. Each team tallied a solo run late in the contest to account for the final score.
For Buckeye Trail (2-8, 2-3 PVC), Shipe absorbed the pitching loss, dropping his spring mark to 1-2. He fanned six, walked one, and gave up nine hits in seven innings of work.
For Caldwell, Rob Kress, Nau and Shaw each had multiple hit efforts at the plate. Shaw had a pair of doubles, Kress had a double and a single and Nau added a pair of singles and a triple.
Aaron Carpenter was the leading Warrior batsman with a triple and a single.
NEXTBoth teams are scheduled to return to PVC action today. Caldwell will host Noble County rival Shenandoah at 5:00 p.m., while Buckeye Trail will host Frontier at Don Coss Stadium at 7 p.m.